front cover of Eastern Band Cherokee Women
Eastern Band Cherokee Women
Cultural Persistence in Their Letters and Speeches
Virginia Moore Carney
University of Tennessee Press, 2005
For the first time, the voices of Eastern Band Cherokee women receive their proper due. A watershed event, this book unearths three centuries of previously unknown and largely ignored speeches, letters, and other writings from Eastern Band Cherokee women. Like other Native American tribes, the Cherokees endured numerous hardships at the hands of the United States government. As their heritage came under assault, so did their desire to keep their traditions. The Eastern Band Cherokees were no exception, and at the forefront of their struggle were their women.Eastern Band Cherokee Women analyzes how the women of the Eastern Band served as honored members of the tribe, occupying both positions of leadership and respect. Carney shows how in the early 1800s women leaders, such as Beloved Nancy Ward, battled to retain her people’s heritage and sovereignty. Other women, such as Catharine Brown, a mission school student, discovered the power of the written word and thereby made themselves heard just as eloquently. Carney traces the voices of these women through the twentieth century, describing how Cherokees such as Marie Junaluska and Joyce Dugan have preserved a culture threatened by an increasingly homogenous society. This book is a fitting testament to their contributions.Eastern Band Cherokee Women stands out by demonstrating the overwhelming importance of women to the preservation of the Eastern Band. From passionate speeches to articulately drafted personal letters, Carney helps readers explore the many nuances of these timeless voices.
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front cover of In Their Letters, in Their Words
In Their Letters, in Their Words
Illinois Civil War Soldiers Write Home
Edited by Mark Flotow
Southern Illinois University Press, 2019
WINNER, Russell P. Strange Memorial Book of the Year Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, 2020!

A vital lifeline to home during the Civil War, the letters of soldiers to their families and friends remain a treasure for those seeking to connect with and understand the most turbulent period of American history. Rather than focus on the experiences of a few witnesses, this impressively researched book documents 165 Illinois Civil War soldiers’ and sailors’ lives through the lens of their personal letters. Editor Mark Flotow chose a variety of letter writers who hailed from counties throughout the state, served in different branches of the military at different ranks, and represented the gamut of social experiences and war outcomes.

Flotow provides extensive quotations from the letters. By allowing the soldiers to speak for themselves, he captures what mattered most to them. Illinois soldiers wrote about their reasons for enlisting; the nature of training and duties; necessities like eating, sleeping, marching, and making the best of often harsh and chaotic circumstances; Southern culture; slavery; their opinions of commanding officers and the president; disease, medicine, and hospitals; their prisoner-of-war experiences; and the ways they left the army. Through letters from afar, many soldiers sought to manage their homes and farms, while some single men attempted to woo their sweethearts.

Flotow includes brief biographies for each soldier quoted in the book, weaves historical context and analysis with the letters, and organizes them by topic. Thus, intimate details cited in individual letters reveal their significance for those who lived and shaped this tumultuous era. The result is not only insightful history but also compelling reading.
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